Archive | December 7th, 2015

Rachael Altman is an embedded librarian and one of the panelists for our “How To Get An Embedded Librarian Job” webinar on Tuesday, December 15, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. US Eastern time. If you haven’t registered yet, go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/616204068926469633, then read our interview below with Rachael. This is the second interview in our “Getting to know you” interview series with our webinar panelists.

Getting to Know…Rachael Altman

Q.1. What is your job title?

Rachael: Corporate Research Analyst

Q. 2. Where do you work and how long have you worked there?

Rachael: Grant Thornton International Ltd., for 1.5 years

Q.3. What are your main job duties and how are you embedded?

Rachael: I work in the risk management and independence department. The main function of my job is to research the firm’s incoming clients to mitigate risk and avoid conflicts of interest. I consider the role to be an embedded librarian for two reasons: 1. I work at an accounting firm so people are always shocked when they find out my background is in English and Library and Information Science. 2. I started my career in academia–even though the work environment is different, many of the skills and experiences are relevant and transferable. In my previous roles I was teaching information literacy classes and assisting students with research for papers. Now I spend my days processing dozens of research requests on potential clients and leading training sessions to teach our member firms how to use databases and the Internet for research.

Q.4. How did you get your job?

Rachael: I learned about my job while preparing for an interview for another job! I was interviewing for a job with Morningstar. In order to prepare, I reached out to Bridget Ginty (SLA Illinois member) who is the librarian at Morningstar. She said, I hope this job works out for you, but in case it doesn’t…check out this job at Grant Thornton. This job didn’t just fall into my lap, though. When I decided I wanted to transition to the corporate sector, I dedicated all of my time and effort to the job search. It definitely paid off!

End of interview

Thanks Rachael! Our next “Getting to know you” webinar panelist interview will be with Mia Breitkopf on Wednesday. Stay tuned!